Huntington Beach officers cleared in shooting deaths of two men

Oct. 11, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Police investigate an officer involved shooting in Westminster at the intersec of Westminster Blvd. and Hammon Pl. Huntington Beach officers attempted to pull a car over in Huntington Beach but the car crossed into Westminster where Huntington Beach police became involved in a shoot out with the suspect vehicle. Witnesses in the area state that two male bodies were pulled from the suspect vehicle. LEONARD ORTIZ, FILE PHOTO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Police investigate an officer involved shooting in Westminster at the intersec of Westminster Blvd. and Hammon Pl. Huntington Beach officers attempted to pull a car over in Huntington Beach but the car crossed into Westminster where Huntington Beach police became involved in a shoot out with the suspect vehicle. Witnesses in the area state that two male bodies were pulled from the suspect vehicle. LEONARD ORTIZ, FILE PHOTO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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People gather in the parking lot Rancho Liquor in Westminster to watch as police investigate an officer involved shooting in Westminster at the intersection of Westminster Blvd. and Hammon Pl. LEONARD ORTIZ, FILE PHOTO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Police and Orange County Sheriff investigators examine the scene where two men were killed Tuesday afternoon in an officer-involved shooting during a car stop in Westminster. The shooting occurred after two Huntington Beach officers about 4:30 p.m. pulled a vehicle over on Hammon Place just south of Westminster Boulevard, Huntington Beach police Lt. Russell Reinhart said. LEONARD ORTIZ, FILE PHOTO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Police investigators huddle together near the scene where two men were killed Tuesday afternoon in an officer-involved shooting during a car stop in Westminster. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Huntington Beach police Lt. Russell Reinhart, center, holds a press conference across from the scene where two Huntington Beach officers were involved in a shooting after a car stop in Westminster. The officers heard a gunshot from inside the car and returned fire, Reinhart said. Two men in the car were pronounced dead at the scene, while a woman was taken into custody. LEONARD ORTIZ, FILE PHOTO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Orange County Sheriff and police investigators gather near the scene where two Huntington Beach officers were involved in a shooting after a car stop in Westminster. The officers heard a gunshot from inside the car and returned fire, Reinhart said. Two men in the car were pronounced dead at the scene, while a woman was taken into custody. LEONARD ORTIZ, FILE PHOTO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Police investigate an officer involved shooting in Westminster at the intersec of Westminster Blvd. and Hammon Pl. Huntington Beach officers attempted to pull a car over in Huntington Beach but the car crossed into Westminster where Huntington Beach police became involved in a shoot out with the suspect vehicle. Witnesses in the area state that two male bodies were pulled from the suspect vehicle.LEONARD ORTIZ, FILE PHOTO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – Prosecutors cleared two Huntington Beach officers who shot and killed John Andrew Torres, 26, of Fullerton and Erick Catalan, 20, of Long Beach.

Officer Kenton Ferrin and Sgt. Tom Weizoerick opened fire on the two men in a Lexus in November 2011 after a round was fired from inside the car, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said in its analysis of the deaths.

Torres and Catalan "engaged in violent conduct" and that "reasonably triggered" Ferrin's and Weizoerick's lawful use of deadly force in self defense, the District Attorney's Office investigation letter said.

"The reality that Officer Ferrin and Sergeant Weizoerick were facing included the need on their part to make a split-second decision when confronted with being fired at by one subject and then having the second subject reaching to the area where they suspected the weapon was located," the letter said.

On the evening of Nov. 1, officers stopped the Lexus, driven by a woman identified as Megan Gomez, after receiving a tip that Torres, a documented gang member, was in possession of a firearm, prosecutors said. Torres was in a back seat, while Catalan was the front seat passenger.

Ferrin asked Gomez to step out of the vehicle to talk and walked her to the back of the Lexus, leaving the driver's door open, the investigation said.

While waiting for more units, Ferrin said Torres reached to the center console area and to the driver's side rear floorboard, the report said. Torres did not comply to put his hands up, and within seconds, Ferrin said, he heard a shot being fired from inside the car.

Ferrin fired three to four shots into the back window toward Torres, the investigation found.

Ferrin added that Weizoerick fired about the same time, but only after the shot came from inside the vehicle. Torres came back up and Ferrin fired additional rounds. Seconds later, Catalan moved his hands with his left arm toward Torres. According to the investigation, Catalan did not comply to put his hands up, and Ferrin fired at him three to four times.

The autopsy revealed Torres was shot twice, with one bullet fired from Weizoerick's firearm and the second gunshot from Ferrin's weapon.

Catalan was shot five times, three of which came from Ferrin's firearm.

Inside the Lexus, officers found a handgun determined to have been reported stolen July 26, 2011, during a residential burglary in Costa Mesa. A casing and a damaged bullet were found in the vehicle.

No bullet holes were found on the underside of the vehicle, but according to the investigation, the rear driver's door was open before the shots were fired, leaving a clear path for a bullet to exit the car without passing through the vehicle.

In April, Catalan's mother, Maria Isabel Garcia, filed a claim saying the officers wrongfully shot her son. In her claim, she says she believes police acted unconstitutionally and also alleged police "planted" evidence to "cover up" the force used.

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